In an interview with CNBC immediately following the announcement, HP chairman Ray Lane insisted the shakeup was unrelated to Hurd's exit.

The long and winding Hurd scandal: Hurd resigned abruptly in August, sending shock waves through the industry. HP executives said Hurd, who is married, failed to tell the board about a "personal relationship" with Jodie Fisher, an actress who was working as a marketing contractor for the company.

Fisher later came forward and said there had been no sexual relationship, but the HP board said that Hurd violated the company's code of ethics by filing inaccurate expense account reports in an attempt to keep the relationship secret.

When Hurd left HP, he received $12 million in cash as severance and kept a large part of his stock and options.

The Los Angeles city attorney is suing four major retailers over claims that they deliberately inflated the original price on some items that misled customers into thinking they were getting a better deal. More